Penelope’s 12-month update

and in the blink of an eye, she went from a snuggly baby, to a full-up toddler.

A little trip through memory lane:

and now, you can often find Miss P chasing her sister around the house, belly-laughing, repeating words, sharing real hugs and kisses, and gently petting Bella.

12 things about 12 months:

12 months is…

1) Curious and wild, yet serene and sweet. She is into everything, as usual, but will still stop and give me a hug, or pet Bella on the way to her next destination.

2) Real hugs and sloppy kisses. P has been giving *real* hugs for quite a while, and there’s nothing like it when she reaches over to enthusiastically wrap both arms around you.

3) Listening to secrets from her best friend, knowing she’ll be able to participate soon. Liv and P already have an incredible connection, and I love watching them play together. I feel like every day Liv will teach her something new, or discover that P can do something. “MOM P CAN ‘HOO’ LIKE AN OWL AND IT WAS AMAZING!”

4) Dancing, clapping, and stomping feet. Sometimes all three at the same time.

5) Already walking over to take bites from my oatmeal. It always makes me smile when she crawls or toddles over to have a bit of what I’m eating, just like her big sis.

6) Splashing in the bath and kicking her feet like crazy. She loves the water so much, and will splash with wild abandon. I can’t even tell her to stop because she’s completely drenching me, because it’s the cutest ever.

7) Snuggles on the couch while she drinks her bottle. I’m pretty sure we were supposed to transition to a sippy cup at 1? And start to work in whole milk (which I’m still terrified to give her)? Yeah, both haven’t happened yet.

8) Talking and babbling up a storm! She’s been able to say a handful of words for a while, but her vocabulary continues to grow and she can even say some 2-syllable words (meh-med = mermaid, baby, Caro, happy, apple, mee mow = Minnie Mouse).

9) Music and singing! Music class is still her very favorite, and she happily bangs on the drum, sings along, and shakes the maracas vigorously. I was thinking maybe the instructor thought P is older than she is -she’s off the charts for height- because we were moved up into the older babies’ class. Then I realized… she is an older baby now. And then I cried.

10) Eating all the things. We still love sharing new foods and flavors with Miss P, and have gotten a little more adventurous since her birthday. Some new faves are pasta, turkey meatballs, fajitas, smoothies, and bites of foods that knowingly have dairy. Knock on wood, it seems to be ok so far.

11) Playing! She’s really into puzzles and blocks; things she can put together and take apart.

12) On the move. P can walk fast. She’s like an ultimate power walker, and has a super wide stance, which is equally adorable and hilarious. She still crawls occasionally, but it seems like walking is the preferred mode of travel.

With both girls, I spent a lot of my pregnancy praying that they’d be safe and healthy, and imaging what they’d be like. Would they have their daddy’s eyelashes (YES)? Would they have my hair (yep!)? Would they be quiet and introverted like me, or outgoing and charismatic like their dad? Both seem like the latter for now. It’s funny, because both girls have absolutely surprised us in the best way possible. They’re only bits of what we’ve expected, and more than we imagined. While the past 12 months have been challenging and a bit rocky, I’d do it all again in a second to have this lovebug here with us.

Here’s a little video I made to share with friends and family on her birthday if you’d like to watch. It’s been a few weeks and I still can’t make it through the whole thing without crying.

Can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

We love you so much, Miss P.

*Since I’ll no longer be doing monthly baby updates (crazy!), this page with mostly before preschool and toddler meal/snack ideas, thoughts on parenting, and Livi-isms. Before we know it, we’ll have a “Penelope Says” category in here, too!

My son turned 1 in June and we are still having a bottle after his nap. He seems to drink more and it’s one of his snuggliest times of day. I just love it. He uses a sippy cup the rest of the time but he is my last baby and I’m soaking it up as long as i can, even though he is definitely a toddler

P is precious. What are your thoughts on the age gap between your two girls? Any really good things or really hard aspects? I appreciate different things work for different families and often the way we “plan” things in regards to childbearing dont always go as expected … but if I could plan my second pregnancy I think I would also want a 3-4 year age gap between my kids. Just curious what your thoughts are.

i think it was absolutely perfect for us. honestly, i wasn’t ready to go through the newborn period again for a long time, so i was glad we waited. liv was also pretty independent at that point which helped a ton! i also love how they interact together. it’s been great. my brother kyle and i are 4 years apart, and he’s always been my best friend

Happy birthday, P! Gosh, where did the time go? If it makes you feel any better, we are aiming for no bottle by 18 mo. She does both bottle and sippy. But the bottle is so comforting to her. And we have been super slow transitioning to almond milk. She still gets 2 ounces of formula + almond for bed bottle but we will ditch those last 2 ounces soon. She’s 14 mo. Good luck!

This is all just so sweet! My daughter will be one next Tuesday (I’m a ball of emotions!) It has been fun to see what things Penelope is doing and seeing if her and Maleah are at similar stages. Oh, and seeing snaps of your girls is fun too. I like to pretend that we are BFF and occasionally send snaps back your way of Maleah

Hi, gorgeous! I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to The Fitnessista, a healthy lifestyle blog emphasizing quick workouts, quick recipes and adventures as a wife and mom. Though I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor and weight loss specialist, the information posted here is not intended to substitute the advice of a medical professional. Please check out the about page for more info. Thank you for reading! ❤️